Mark Sanchez is back on an NFL roster.
The 32-year-old quarterback signed with the Washington Redskins on Monday. He joins the roster one day after the team’s established starter, Alex Smith, suffered a gruesome leg injury in a loss to the Houston Texans.
Smith suffered what was later diagnosed as both a compound and spiral fracture of his leg. In addition to the move to bring in Sanchez, the Redskins have placed Smith on season-ending injured reserve.
The Redskins are expected to sign QB Mark Sanchez, per source. He'll serve as the back-up to Colt McCoy.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 19, 2018
Mark Sanchez Signs With Washington Redskins
Sanchez will back up Colt McCoy, who replaced Smith after the injury. He went 6/12 in relief of Smith, throwing for 54 yards and a touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Reed. The final result of the game, a 23-21 defeat, dropped the Skins to 6-4 on the season.
The native of Long Beach, CA played for the Chicago Bears during the 2017 season. He served as the third quarterback on the roster behind rookie Mitch Trubisky and Mike Glennon. That certainly precluded him from getting in-game snaps and, not surprisingly, he didn’t see any action.
The previous season, Sanchez initially arrived with the Denver Broncos via trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. But he lost out in the quarterback competition that also involved Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch and was subsequently released before the season started. Sanchez then signed with the Dallas Cowboys, seeing minimal action in two games including the regular season finale.
Sanchez’s last stint as a starting quarterback came during his two seasons with the Eagles. He went 4-6 as a starter in that time, finishing with 3,034 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. But he never really supplanted neither Nick Foles nor Sam Bradford as the go-to signal-caller during his time in Philly.
The New York Jets selected Sanchez with the fifth overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. Then head coach Rex Ryan immediately thrust him into the starting lineup and he initially realized success. He went 10-8 as a starter during his rookie year and helped lead the Jets to the AFC title game. He followed that up with a repeat appearance in the title game in 2010.
But things sputtered out for the USC product after that. He went 14-17 as a starter during the next two seasons and was part of one of the more dubious plays in NFL history in 2012. During a Thanksgiving night clash with the New England Patriots, Sanchez collided with the rear end of lineman Brandon Moore and lost the football. The “butt fumble” as it’s now referred to, resulted in a Patriots defensive touchdown.
Sanchez’s new team faces a short turnaround heading into their next game as they face the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Kickoff from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX gets underway at 4:30 p.m. ET.
